Ayn Rand
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Transcript of Ayn Rand
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Ayn Rand
1905-1982American Author
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Ayn Rand Background
Born in Russia in 1905 as Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum
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She witnessed both the Kerensky and Bolshevik Revolutions during her
teenage years in Russia.
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The communist victory in Russia resulted in the
confiscation of her father's pharmacy and periods of near-
starvation for her family.
Communist troops in Red Square in 1917
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This revolution established the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics - (U.S.S.R. or Soviet Union), a
communist government.
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When introduced to American history in her last year of high school, she immediately took
America as her model of what a nation of free men could be.
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In late 1925 she obtained permission to leave Soviet Russia
for a visit to relatives in the United States.
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Although she told Soviet authorities that her visit would be short, she was determined never
to return to Russia, and she never did.
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She moved to the United States in her twenties in 1926, less than a decade after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
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Ayn Rand
She opposed the communist government that had taken over her country and which was beginning to
spread around the world.
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Actually, Rand opposed all forms of Collectivism.
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She is famous for several novels including Anthem,
The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged, which voiced
this opposition through literature.
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The Collective vs. the Individual
Collectivism: a philosophy that stresses human
interdependence and the importance of a social
collective, rather than the importance of separate
individuals.
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Collectivist: one who focuses on
community and society, and seeks to give priority to
group goals over individual goals.
Cooperation is key.
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Its roots go back to the concept of “Holism” from
Aristotle.
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Holism: “The whole is more than the sum of its
parts” – Aristotle
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The Collective vs. the Individual
Collectivism inspired some political philosophies.
Two are:Socialism and Communism.
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The Collective vs. the Individual
--Socialism: property & distribution of wealth are controlled by
governments to increase social and economic equality.
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--Communism: goal is to form a classless society based on
common ownership of the state where everyone is equal.
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The roots of communism go back to the philosophical work
of Karl Marx who believed communism should replace other forms of government.
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Marx: “From each according to his ability—to each according to
his needs.”
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Thomas More (English Author) invented the term “Utopia”
in 1516.
The Collective and Utopia
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Utopia translates to no place, and it is a fictional paradise where everyone is equal.
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In some ways, Communism seeks to achieve this kind of
paradise or at least a “workers paradise.”
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The “workers paradise” was Marx’s last stage in his vision
for his collectivist society.
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Society vs. the Individual
Dystopia is a vision of an often futuristic society, which has
developed into a negative version of Utopia.
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A dystopia is often characterized by a totalitarian form of
government.
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It often features: different kinds of repressive
social control systems,
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a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and
expressions,
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and a state of constant warfare or violence.
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Think about these features as you read any of Rand’s novels,
such as Anthem.
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Society vs. the Individual
Individualism: a term used to describe a social outlook that
stresses independence and the importance of individual
self-reliance & liberty.
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Individualism is therefore opposed to collectivism, holism,
socialism, communism, and totalitarianism.
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Totalitarianism: government regulation of nearly every aspect of public & private
behavior.
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Some individualists believe that collectivism will ultimately lead to a totalitarian government, leading to
a form of dystopia.
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Rand and the Individual
Rand came to see the individual as the answer, in many ways, to the
purpose of life.
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The expression of the individual is continually expressed through her fiction, such as in the lost “I” in Anthem, Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, and John Galt in
Atlas Shrugged.
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Rand and Objectivism
Rand’s belief in the self, or ego, came to be represented in a
philosophical framework of thinking she called Objectivism.
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Objectivism can best be understood by its goal, which is to
achieve personal happiness through one’s own efforts.
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One does not give or receive anything undeserved, and one
does not envy what others have.
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It has been criticized as a philosophy that is, in essence,
selfish or self-centered . . . is it?
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Rand and ObjectivismRand: "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with
productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his
only absolute.”
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The idea of objective principles relates to the idea that there are objective realities about life that
are not dependent on what anyone thinks – they are
independent.
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Some of these are the fact that people deserve respect,
individual rights, and one should live with moral integrity.
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We must create our own happiness.